Arrivederci Italia

Our 2 months in Italy, Umbria to be precise, is coming to a close. We started our HelpX assignment with Gilly and Gordon back at the beginning of chilly March and we leave behind the blue skies, humid days and balmy evenings of a southern European May. The temperature has not been the only transition. We have migrated from HelpXers to housesitters and then back to HelpXers , we have transferred from decorators to gardeners and back again and we have traded wearing as many layers as possible to shorts and sandals.

Just a Little JWalking

We have not travelled much from our local area. Most other HelpXers use these bookings while they travel through specific countries – we prefer to just soak up where we are. Gilly and Gordon’s beautiful home and views are also extremely difficult to leave. Many a JWalk with stunning views has been done with our 4 legged friends Vinnie and Lady Lulu.

A “Harey” Tale

It was on one such walk that Vinnie and Lady Lulu used a massively strategic, or lucky, pincer movement through the undergrowth to chase and kill a large hare. Their breed is Maremmano which is the Italian equivalent of a sheepdog used to guard sheep and defend them from wolves and other dogs but they look much like a golden labrador. Lady Lulu insisted on bringing their trophy home with them and guard it from everyone (me!) as a prized possession . She then proceeded to nibble at it for a while before eventually heading off and burying it so no-one (me!) could dispose of it. Two days later, however, she decided it was ripe enough to dig up and present to Gilly when they returned from a few days away. What a welcome home gift that was! (I will spare you a photo.)

“Where did I leave that hare?”

The To Do List

Our last few days have flown by. Jonno has powerwashed a couple of terraces (and himself) and I have been tackling chickweed, weed and a bit more weed on a bank that leads down to the swimming pool. The ‘To Do List‘ running and upkeeping a property like this is endless but hopefully the help we have given over the past 2 months has made the list a little shorter as their summer season and a wedding event looms.

Homeward Bound

My statistician, Jonno, has confirmed that this is the longest we have had between packing our bags, I hope I haven’t lost my touch – but a couple of items will definitely be culled (like the leaky raincoat, walking boots with holes in and working jeans that have become indecent, or shall I say, well ventilated!). Jonno’s gear is much the same so a big “outdoor shop” shop is needed but first it is back to the UK courtesy of Ryanair.

One of the parts of JWalkingthat we like best is that change is always just around the corner and as we leave one place and say goodbye, we know that we will be saying hello to either our family or another housesitting/HelpX. This time it is onto our sons homes (Yay!) for a few days, some retail therapy (not so Yay!) and catching up with friends who are long overdue a get-together(Yay again!). All of these things will be in my ultimate list of top 10 homecoming musts.

Surprised you’re not getting the train all the way home. Were the Ryanair flights particularly cheap? Glad that Umbria worked out so well after a bit of a sticky start. Enjoy the shopping. I know how much you 2 just love a good old shop!

From the aerial view it looks like rather a grand estate you had to look after, which must have seemed daunting at first? As a fan of sunset/rise photos, I have to mention that I love that particular photo.